This post first appeared on OYT on June 4, 2018
By Alysa Leier
Have you ever been in a grocery store aisle and watched a mother read a nutrition label and look every unknown ingredient up on their phone? That’s a level of dedication to food choices that I’ve never had to make, thankfully. Some mothers are looking it up due to food allergies within their home or because of restrictive diets. Fortunately for me, there are no food allergies/aversions in my family that I have to worry about, except that I hate onions.
In general, moms are the ones we look to as our “food choosers.” I have to admit this is my least favorite mom chore, but it got me thinking about the food choices that different moms make.
I once saw a funny video about the five different types of moms. Seriously, it was spot on! While I’d like to think of myself as a fairly good mix of all of the “good” behaviors that these moms display, I began to wonder how I come across to other parents in regard to the food choices that I make.
The “PTA Mom” will make food choices based on overall health and wellness, of not just her kids, but all the children they interact with. I think this is probably where I mostly reside. I love to bake, but I make sure to ask the teachers if there are any allergies that I need to avoid (if I haven’t already made a note of it). Similar to the “PTA Mom,” the “Parenting Expert” will feed their kids only foods that are “in season” and what they deem to be the healthiest options. I’d be fine alone in a room with one of these moms.
We then have the “Crunchy” mom, who looks for words like natural, non-GMO, organic, gluten free, un-refined and minimally processed when making food choices. This group of moms is probably less prevalent in a rural setting, and would be the hardest for me to communicate with because I am decidedly NOT looking for all those things when I shop. I’m looking at the nutrition facts, not the marketing labels.
Fourth is the “Hipster” who wants their food choices to be an experience. I’m honestly not even sure what that means. And last, we have the “Hot Mess” mom. She’s going to feed her kids whatever they will eat, and you can generally find her practically sprinting through the grocery store, simply to get out of there ASAP. If I have my kids with me in the grocery store, I am totally a hot mess mom.
We often hear parents getting judged based on their food choices, but if you ask me: IF YOU FED YOUR KIDS TODAY, GOOD JOB!